At some point early in life most kids are asked, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Disney girls might have said, “A Princess.”

While that might not have been her answer while growing up in Birmingham, Shanda DeWitt gets to be a princess every night. In fact, it’s her job.

DeWitt is skating as Elsa from “Frozen” in a new Disney On Ice show for nine performances Oct. 12-15 at Little Caesar’s Arena in Detroit. It’s the first stop in the show’s more than nine-month run, and the North American debut of the “Reach For The Stars” themed show. DeWitt skated the same role last year when the tour was in South America, and she is excited to come home to launch the new season.

Growing up the oldest of three children and the only girl, DeWitt had what she describes as a “pretty normal family.” She started skating at age 6 after her mom signed her up and she trained at the well-known Detroit Skating Club.

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“All of my friends in school were taking skating lessons and I didn’t want to be left out,” she said during a recent phone conversation from the Disney On Ice rehearsal facility. Of those friends, DeWitt was the only one who moved on to a career in professional skating, although five members of her current production trained at the Detroit Skating Club at various times.

The Seaholm graduate looks at this run of the tour as a homecoming because her busy performance schedule has kept her from visiting as much as she’d like in the past five years. DeWitt says she was “very excited when I found out we were opening the tour in Detroit.”

“I get to come home, see family and friends, and they get to come see what I do. It’s pretty cool.”

A four-year stretch on Royal Caribbean cruise ships preceded her stint with Disney On Ice. DeWitt auditioned in person and the casting director offered her the job on the spot. Her work with Disney On Ice included about two weeks of eight-hour rehearsals at the beginning of the season, then a nine- to 10-month tour.

The “Reach For The Stars” production includes 42 skaters from all over the world, and DeWitt is one of 10 leads during the performance, which pulls from Disney’s “Little Mermaid,” “Tangled,” “Beauty and The Beast” and “Frozen.”

DeWitt is especially proud to present the production in her hometown for the first time and looks forward to skating at the new Little Caesar’s Arena, having heard great things about the facility.

DeWitt stressed that Disney On Ice “Reach For The Stars” is an all-ages show, and there are usually just as many adults as children in attendance.

“Everybody comes as a family. We love it when everyone is singing along, getting involved. The more excited the audience is, the more excited we get to perform.”

While she is excited to perform at home, DeWitt says her favorite thing about being on tour is the travel. She loves to see new places and enjoys finding “new and exciting things to do” in the cities they visit. A seasoned traveler, DeWitt says some essentials everyone should have are chargers, cash and an international phone plan. She can’t live without comfy clothes and her own pillow. A healthy sense of curiosity and flexible attitude also come in handy.

She’ll get to display her flexibility on the rink starting Oct. 12 and says she and the cast “put in a lot of hard work to perfect everything.”

“We want to give audiences the best show we can,” she says. “It’s going to be a great show.”

Touring the world as a princess on ice might not seem like a job to some, but DeWitt works hard and she is making a living doing what she loves, performing as a professional skater.

“I’m having a lot of fun, just having a really good time. I’m very happy to be doing this,” she says.